Conformity - Asch's Research Flashcards
Who were the participants Asch used.
123 American Male Students
How many confederates were in each group that the p’s were placed in.
6-8
What lines did Asch use to test the participants.
1 Standard Line and 3 comparison lines.
How many trials were there
18
How many critical trials were there
12
What percentage of the time did p’s give the wrong answer
37%
What percent of the p’s conformed at least once.
75%
What percentage of the p’s conformed every time
5%
What percentage of p’s gave wrong answer on control study.
1%
What three factors affect conformity
Group size
Unanimity
Task Difficulty
How does conformity change with group size
Conformity increases with group size, but only up to a point, levelling off when the majority was greater than 3.
How does conformity change with unanimity
The higher the number of members of the group in agreement the greater the degree of conformity.
How does conformity change with task difficulty
The more difficult a task the higher the degree of conformity. Naïve p’s assume the majority is more likely to be right.
Give evaluation of Asch’s studies relevance for today
The outcomes may have been influenced by social attitudes of the 1950s - post - war attitudes that people should work together and consent, rather than dissent
Give evaluation of the artificiality of Asch’s study
Asch’s study was artificial - therefore not a valid measure of real life conformity where conforming takes place in a social context and often with people we know
